TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

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LOK SABHA

The Government has taken the following steps to prevent trafficking of women and children:

1. Drawn up a National Plan of Action (1998) and constituted a Central Advisory Committee to combat trafficking and to rescue and rehabilitate victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and activate legal and law enforcement systems to strengthen implementation of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
2. Set up State Advisory Committees on Trafficking for the same purpose, devolving authority and seeking to mobilise greater state resource in the fight against trafficking.
3. The Department of Women & Child Development (DWCD) has issued guidelines to the States for effective implementation of the Plan of Action and regularly reviews State action.
4. The DWCD is presently reviewing the existing legal framework including the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act.
5. DWCD has undertaken regional efforts, in alliance with NGOs, to create greater awareness of the dimensions of trafficking and increase sensitivity to victims among Government Departments, the police and judiciary, as well as within civil society at large .
6. The National Commission for Women is conducting active advocacy against trafficking in partnership with NGOs. It has conducted 20 workshops all over the country and has prepared a comprehensive report on the subject.
7. Concerned State Governments have enacted legislation to prohibit Devdasi and prevent Jogin traditions of sexual exploitation.
8. Profiling NGOs that are engaged in tackling trafficking and helping to rehabilitate victims.
9. The DWCD has initiated a new scheme called SWADHAR for women in difficult situations which is applicable to victims of trafficking also. The scheme provides for shelter, counselling, medical assistance, vocational training to rescued victims.
10. The DWCD has formulated a model grant-in-aid scheme for assistance to NGOs to combat trafficking in source areas, traditional areas and destination areas through prevention, rescue and rehabilitation. Emphasis is placed on counselling, non-formal education and vocational training.
11. The DWCD has notified offices of the level of Inspector and above in the CBI as Trafficking Police Officers for investigation of inter-state trafficking cases.
12. The DWCD has proposed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to set up a nodal agency for combating and monitoring of trafficking.
13. The NHRC and DWCD have initiated a survey on trafficking within the country. The study will also investigate the causal and behavioural aspects of all agents in trafficking. The DWCD has also commissioned a survey to go into the magnitude of the problem, an estimate of the numbers involved and trafficking routes.

Various reports, research findings and studies from several countries including Sri Lanka, Jamaica, the United States, Nepal, India the Dominican Republic and West Africa conducted by UNICEF point out that about 1 million children are estimated to enter the sex trade every year. The child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation are a widespread phenomenon.

This information was given by Smt. Jaskaur Meena, Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha Sabha today.